Tomorrow is ‘Everybody Draw Muhammad Day’ ...

Best stick your head in the sand. That’s right, tomorrow is “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day,” and unless you want to look like you’re taking a part in it, well, then you better follow the “South Park” advice—advice that is painfully ironic after last month’s affair.

What started out as a cartoonist’s call to action against censorship—an open invitation to submit caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad—has led to death threats, a court order to temporarily block parts of the website in Pakistan and a call for a boycott of Facebook to protest what Muslims believe is blasphemy.

“Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!” began last month as the brainchild of a Seattle-based cartoonist named Molly Norris, who was appalled by Comedy Central’s decision to censor an episode of “South Park” that depicted Muhammad in a bear costume.

As a way to protest the network’s decision—which came after an Islamic extremist website warned of retaliation against the show’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker—Norris created a poster with likenesses of Muhammad as a domino, a teacup and a box of pasta.

She declared May 20 “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!”—and her efforts quickly went viral, spawning several Facebook pages with thousands of followers dedicated to the event.

They also prompted a “protest” movement by thousands of other Facebook users opposed to it.

Norris is a bit uncomfortable with the life her call to action has taken on, and the credit she is receiving for it, which she discusses at the top of her website.

Her suggestion, though, is one I heard others voice after Comedy Central censored “201” because of threats against the network and “South Park” staff.

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